<Begin Segment 4>

MN: So how old were you when you moved out of Venice?

HY: Let's see. I was about, about nine years old. Nine, ten years old.

MN: And why did you have to move out of Venice?

HY: Because they started drilling the oil right in the middle of the field.

MN: So essentially, they kicked you off the land?

HY: That's about it. On account of they put a road right into the, in the center of the field, too. The Lincoln Highway, they built that Lincoln, yeah, all the way to Washington.

MN: Yeah, that's the main street now.

HY: Yeah. From that... what is that up there? Hill up there. What's that hill up there where that university is?

MN: Are you talking about Loyola?

HY: Loyola, yeah. Loyola.

MN: From all the way there --

HY: Yeah, all the way down. They built that Lincoln Highway.

MN: So that's why you were kicked off your land?

HY: Well, they came right through the center of the field, so...

MN: So where did you move to?

HY: We moved to 118th and Central.

MN: And what did you farm out there?

HY: Oh, mostly vegetables like spinach, carrots, radish, some cabbage, some celery.

MN: Now this was --

HY: A variety of vegetables.

MN: This was during the Great Depression. Did your family have enough to eat? I know you're farmers.

HY: Well, my dad used to take a truckload of vegetables and come back home, and he said he bought a loaf of bread and... loaf of bread and, you know, sausage or something, and then he's broke. That's how bad it was.

MN: But your family always had enough to eat. Is that right?

HY: Oh, yeah, we had plenty of vegetable.

MN: How about, you said there were people who were coming onto your farm.

HY: Oh, yeah. Those WPA workers. They used to come by truckload just to, you know, so they can get some vegetables. And my dad used to let 'em cut the grass or work on the farm, you know. Take the grass off the, where the vegetables are. And the end of the day, he'd give 'em vegetables.

MN: Now, those WPA people, were they all Caucasians?

HY: Mostly, yeah. Mostly Caucasian.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.